Building materials package



Jan. 22, 1957 R. B. TAYLOR ETAI- BUILDING MATERIALS PACKAGE Filed Oct. 1l, 1954 2,718,491 BUILDING MATERIALS PACKAGE Robert Taylor, Elmhurst, and Paul V. Johnson, Park Forest, Ill., assignors to Structural Clay Products Re- Search Foundation, Chicago',l lll., a trade association Application October 11, 1954, SerialNo. 461,462

4 Claims. (Cl. 20G-'65) The present invention relates to l the4 expeditious' handling ofbuilding materials;and'particularly toiapackag'ing unit for storing and handling building' bricks.` The inventio'nI finds" particular, althoughV not exclusive, utility in packaging and handling building bricks, tile,- andbl'ocks.

lt is the general object of the invention to provide a package of building `bricks'which4 may' ber'eadily handled by conventional matealshandlinglequipment.

ln the case of faced building materials, such lasvface bricki'and' glazed'tile, it is a "further object of the invention to furnish a package which will protect such faces from abuse in handling.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a package of building bricks which may be broken into subunits on the construction site for movement by hand.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a convenient self-contained package for handling building bricks with conventional equipment which does not require the use of pallets or otherauxiliary equipment.

Further obiects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description of an exemplary embodiment proceeds, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view shown in perspective ot a modular unit of bricks exemplifying an element of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a package of brick units shown in perspective.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view in partial section of a package of bricks such as illustrated in Fig. 2 being carried by a hand truck.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of two such packages as illustrated in Fig. 2 poised for engagement by the tines of a conventional fork lift truck.

In broad outline, the invention contemplates basic modular units of building bricks which are in turn packaged in such a fashion as to provide a handling opening sufficient to accommodate the engaging arms or tines of conventional material handling equipment. Referring now to Fig. l, it will be seen that the basic modular unit lil, there illustrated, consists of a package of twenty conventional building bricks 1l bound together by a steel strap 12 and secured by a fastener 14. The interface 15 between the parallel rows of bricks in the basic unit 10 may be made up of face sides of the brick or building blocks employed. That is, that portion of the bricks or building materials which are ultimately intended to be exposed to view when the wall is erected is the face portion of theblock at the interface l5.

Although the basic modular unit l illustrated in Fig. l is made up of twenty bricks in two parallel rows of ten, if larger bricks are used the quantity of bricks may be correspondingly reduced. The weight of the unit illustrated in Fig. l, if made up of conventional brick, is approximately ninety (90) pounds; and consequently may be handled on the job by a laborer without requiring the aid of a hand truck or wheelbarrow. It will be appreciated that the single steel strap 12 is an item of minimum expense in the packaging and is an expendible item on the 2,778,491 Patented Jan. 1957 ICC building site when it is finally broken and the bricks are laid in place.

After the bricks have been bundled into the basic units 10, a plurality of the basic units are then bundled together to form the handling package 20 as illustrated' in Fig. 2. ln Fig. 2 it will be seen that three of the basic units it) have been assembled longitudinally and bound with a second girdlingstrap 2l secured by a second fastener 22. 1f the manufacturer desires, the faces of the brick may be protected by placing them at the interface 15 of the basic brick packaging units itl.

ln order to provide for engagement by conventional materials handling equipment, an opening V24 has been provided above the lower unit 10 of bricks of suiifcie'nt width to accommodate the tines of a forklift truck or other engaging prongs which may be foundyexpledient to employ in handling the basic brick package 20. The opening 2dV is bounded by -two spacer bricks 25 whichrk ar'ethe same type ofgbrick as used in the basic units 10. In total, thepackage 2t) contains sixty-two bricks, and will weigh approximately 275 pounds'. The number of basic units l) which are employed inthe package 2i) needl not necessarily be xed at three, but the unit illustrated is of a convenient-size for handling andbreaks'downon a'we'ight basis in the three individual packages to units which can also be moved on the site by manual labor.

The actual handling of the package is best illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. ln Fig. 3 it will `be seen that the handling package 2t? is positioned for movement by a hand truck 3i). "l" he particular hand truck 30 illustrated has extending load-engaging arms 3l which are firmly secured to the frame 32 of the hand truck. A backing panel 34 engages the rear portion of the building block package 20, and partially supports the load when the handles 35 of the hand truck 39 are lowered to roll it forward on its' wheels 36. Eig. 3 further illustrates how the faces of the brick 11 are protected from abuse in shipping by means of their location along the interfaces of the basic modular units 10.

The packages 2% of building bricks may be paired together for handling by a forked lift truck 40 such as illustrated in Pig. 4. rEhe broad handling opening 24 flanked by the spacer bricks 25 proves advantageous as it can be seen that sufficient clearance is allowed for both of the tines 41 of the fork lift truck to move within the opening 24. ln addition, the narrower arms 3l of the hand truck 30 can also be centrally employed inthe same opening.

Although no horizontal banding of the Ltwo brick packages 2t) has been shown in the 'two package unit as handled by the fork lift truck, such bands may be readily added if found desirable in accordance with the needs' `of the particular operator.

A distinct advantage is realized from the storing and handling of the package because no pallets or auxiliary equipment is required for either moving, handling or storage. Such items naturally bear an original cost as well as subsequent shipping and upkeep costs'. The yonly item shipped with the package units as contemplated by the invention are the straps or banding which are of negligible cost, and consequently considered expendible at the construction site.

A further advantage of the package of building bricks contemplated by the invention is realized in shipment. Building materials are often subjected to rough handling. The spacer bricks 25 may shift somewhat and vary the location and width of the handling opening 24. Because of the width of the opening, such shifting may take place to ya considerable extent and still leave the opening 24 wide enough to accommodate the work engaging elements of conventional handling equipment.

When the packages of lbuilding bricks 20 are stored at the construction site they may be placed directly on the ground. Even though the ground may ybe wet or muddy .9 the contractor may be assured that the faces of the building materials will be protected from discoloration and contamination because of their location at the interfaces 1S in the modular units 1li.

Although one particular embodiment of the particular invention has been shown and described in some detail here, there is no intention to thereby limit the invention to the details of such embodiment. On the contrary, the intention is to cover `all modifications', alternative embodiments, and usages lor equivalents of the building materials package as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed and defined in the specification and the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

l. A package of like bricks comprising, in combination, at least two modular units `of twenty bricks, each of the units comprising two columns of ten bound with a tension strap forming `an elongated rigid unit, a pair of spaced bricks between two of the units defining a single uninterrupted opening therebetween, said uninterrupted opening being of a length equal to the spacing of at least three bricks along the axis of the opening, and a package tension strap binding the units into a single package.

2. A package of bricks of the character dened in claim 1 above in which the brick faces are contiguous at the interface between the columns of brick in each modular unit.

3. A package of like bricks comprising, in combination,

three modular units of twenty bricks, each of the units comprising two columns of ten bricks bound with a at tension strap forming an elongated rigid unit, a liner at the interface between the two columns of bricks protecting the contiguous faces, a pair of bricks between ltwo of the units defining a single uninterrupted opening therebetween, said uninterrupted opening being of a length equal to the spacing of at least three bricks along the axis of the opening, and a package strap binding the units into n single package, `the package strap being parallel to the unit strap.

4. A package of like bricks comprising, in combination, at least two modular units of a plurality of bricks, each of the units comprising at least one column of uniformly oriented brick bound with a tension strap forming an elongated rigid unit, a pair of spaced blocks between two of the units, the units being positioned in spaced relation with their longitudinal axes parallel and defining a single uninterrupted opening therebetween, said uninterrupted opening being of a length equal to the combined Width of at least three bound bricks .along the axis of the openings, and a package tension strap binding .the units into a single package.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

